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Snow Cruiser
s are large amphibious warships (in the literal sense) designed specifically to cross the impassible frozen wasteland of the Crystal Sea. They represent the bleeding edge of Ragnite technology, being equipped with a high-output reactor of classified design, and propel themselves using a combination of auger drive and two sets of enormous chainsaw-like treads at the front of the vehicle. They were developed in secret by the Edinburgh Navy, with technological support from the United States of Vinland. Three such vessels, Cavalier, Centurion and Comet, were available at the time of Operation Cygnus, and all three participated in the operation to some degree. Profile A battleship developed in secret by the Edinburgh navy, with help from the USV. Three ships were built, named the Comet, the Cavalier and the Centurion. A giant ram on the front breaks through the ice, and a long hull grants passage over glacial crevasses. The deck can slide back to create a bridge for deploying both infantry and tanks onto the coast or higher ground. Part tank, part boat, the power source used to provide the massive amounts of energy needed is classified information. Description The snow cruisers were large but relatively lightly armed vessels, functioning primarily as transport and support vessels for their compliment of infantry and tanks. To this end their only armament was four "Amp Cannons," special weapons designed to increase the firepower of tanks. Their support features were comprehensive and clearly anticipated complications with Operation Cygnus: they could provide repair and medical support for their troops as well as radar support, and featured a large service bay for vehicle maintenance. Centurion even carried a series of one-man military balloons to allow her troops to perform airborne insertions if need be. Each ship had two power plants: the main reactor, and a conventional Ragnite-powered backup engine which could provide about one-third as much power. The vessels were not designed to resist a prolonged direct attack and seemingly were only lightly armored, being vulnerable to parabombs and easily crippled if stripped of their infantry protection. Their large internal spaces also meant that their ability to float on water was easily compromised. True purpose After the self-destruction of the crippled Cavalier it was revealed that the true mission of the Cygnus Fleet was not to capture the Imperial capital, Schwartzgrad, but to destroy it: each vessel's reactor could also function as an enormously powerful Valkyrian Bomb, with only one such detonation needed to destroy an entire city. Fate All three Snow Cruisers were lost in action during the course of Operation Cygnus: Comet suffered critical damage and exploded after the "defective" Valkyria Crymaria Levin lost control of her emotions and subjected the Snow Cruiser to a prolonged bombardment, in an attack which also disabled the Centurion's reactor. The damaged Centurion was forced to follow a different route to her sister Cavalier, and the latter was caught in a similar ambush by elite Imperial forces, losing her infantry forces and being left unable to move. Desperate, the Captain elected to detonate his Valkyrian Bomb out on the ice rather than risk the Cavalier falling into Imperial hands. Centurion reached Schwartzgrad, but Claude Wallace elected not to detonate the Valkyrian Bomb after a cease-fire agreement between the Empire and Federation. The vessel was then stolen by forces loyal to Belgar with the goal of detonating its Valkyrian Bomb: Squad E succeeded in thwarting Belgar's ambitions, but could not recover the Centurion, which sank into the Crystal Sea. All details of the Snow Cruisers and the true nature of Operation Cygnus were classified following the operation's conclusion. Officially, the operation involved a giant Federation tank making its way to Schwartzgrad over land. Gameplay The Centurion is assigned to the player starting in the first part of Chapter 8: The Crystal Sea. While it is never a directly controllable unit, it has a number of functions: firstly, it serves as a replacement for the destroyed Lindbergh Base and all Headquarters functions are carried out on board. This is purely cosmetic: the Headquarters functions all work as they did before. The second function is a more major gameplay change: it allows the development of Ship Upgrades in the R&D lab, and the use of Ship Orders during missions. Ship Orders provide support functions to the squad: they require one Command Point per use, and a limited number are available per battle, 2 by default. Some can only be activated within a set radius of the Hafen. There are four Ship Orders: * Radar automatically reveals all enemy units within its radius of effect, even those in hiding. * Bombardment calls in a volley of shots from the Centurion's Amp Cannons. The damage is fairly minor for game balance purposes, and it is primarily useful for softening up infantry or destroying sandbags. * Rescue Squad allows for emergency healing of infantry units. * Emergency Fix does the same for tanks. By default only Radar is available: the other Ship Orders require the corresponding Part to be developed in R&D before they can be used. Ship Orders are also disabled in some missions, usually with the explanation that the Centurion is not present to offer support. They are available in most Skirmish maps. The other two Snow Cruisers never serve any gameplay function other than some mission objectives being based around assisting them. Trivia *They are the largest machines to have appeared in the series so far, being 2.5 meters longer than the previous record-holder Perkunas from the second game. *The general hull shape is based on WW2-era German U-boat with the hull's side bulges moved forward (they even retain flooding holes), while the raised rear deck is based on the loading platform of the Schwerer Gustav supergun. *Her radar is a scaled-up American Mk 4 gunnery radar. *The three Snow Cruisers are each named after a model of British cruiser tank. Category:Backstory Category:Vehicles Category:Valkyria Chronicles 4